Chapter 140: Xiaoping Awakes

When Wei Xiaoping first saw the Ghost King Gaoyang and his underworld soldiers struck down into the Black Water River by the King of Hell's sealing spell and barrier because they intercepted the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King, and watched as the ghost soldiers were either heavily injured or killed, a deep sense of self-reproach arose within him. After all, those ghost soldiers had jumped onto the bank of the Black River alongside the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King solely to help him block the monster, which resulted in them being hit by the King of Hell's spell! Therefore, Wei Xiaoping felt profound guilt and remorse in his heart.

As Wei Xiaoping continued to watch, seeing the injured or slain ghost soldiers being devoured one by one by the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King, tears fell from his eyes and he choked with sobs.

Standing nearby, Underworld Hound Boss Ma and Niu Dahua were also filled with endless grief, sorrow, and tears as they watched the tragic scene.

Finally, upon seeing that even Ghost King Gaoyang was slowly devoured by the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King, Wei Xiaoping could no longer hold back his cries. Overcome with emotion, he extended his right hand to summon the Demon-Slaying Sword from his back and lunged forward, intending to slay the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King.

Seeing Wei Xiaoping charge forward with his sword drawn, the King of Hell immediately stopped him and said, "General Xiaoping, there is no need for you to grieve for Ghost King Gaoyang and his soldiers. This is their destiny. Furthermore, when they were alive in the mortal realm, they were heinous criminals. After death, because of their grave sins, they were originally meant to be punished by having their souls scattered to the winds, denying them even the chance to become ghosts. However, since their crimes did not warrant total annihilation, they were instead sentenced to eternal confinement in the Black River Prison, never to leave for all eternity!"

Wei Xiaoping said, "Yet, they died precisely because they helped me escape the Black River Prison, and I feel deeply guilty! Moreover, ever since Ghost King Gaoyang was sealed within the Black River Prison, he has voluntarily guided countless passing newly arrived ghosts to safety for thousands of years. This proves that he had truly repented. Now that he has been devoured by this Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King, there will rarely be anyone else as selfless and devoted as Ghost King Gaoyang to guide the newly deceased!"

The King of Hell pondered for a moment and said, "Regarding Ghost King Gaoyang voluntarily guiding new ghosts for thousands of years, I was aware of it. I was indeed moved by the good deeds he performed in the Black River Prison, and I had even considered commuting his sentence. Alas, I never expected such a tragedy to occur. Blame me for arriving a little too late!"

Hearing that the King of Hell had considered reducing Gaoyang's sentence, Wei Xiaoping felt even more heartbroken: If it hadn't been for helping me escape the Black River Prison, perhaps Senior Brother Gaoyang might one day have had his punishment reduced and been given the chance to reincarnate... Ah! At this thought, another wave of pain washed over Wei Xiaoping, and he endlessly reproached himself in his heart.

The King of Hell spoke again, "Very well. The purpose of my personal visit here today, besides letting you know that Ghost King Gaoyang is no longer of this world so that you need not dwell on him, is primarily to cast a spell and send you back to the Qingfeng Kingdom as swiftly as possible, returning you to your physical body. Because you spent a considerable amount of time fighting prison ghosts in the Black River Prison, chatting with Ghost King Gaoyang about personal matters, and battling the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King, very little time remains. I fear that unclean entities might block your path on the way back and delay your journey further, which is why I have come to escort you personally with my magic!"

Upon hearing that the King of Hell was going to personally cast a spell to send them back, Wei Xiaoping, Underworld Hound Boss Ma, and Niu Dahua immediately dropped to their knees and showered the King of Hell with endless expressions of gratitude!

The King of Hell laughed heartily, pointing his right hand toward the ground beside Wei Xiaoping, Boss Ma, and Niu Dahua. Instantly, a black-and-white auspicious cloud materialized by their side. He then instructed Wei Xiaoping and the two underworld hounds to step onto the cloud and close their eyes.

When Wei Xiaoping and the hounds had steadied themselves, the King of Hell raised his finger, lifting the black-and-white cloud into the air without touching it, pointed toward the east, and commanded: "Depart!"

Thus, the black-and-white cloud carried Wei Xiaoping and his companions, soaring gracefully toward the east.

***

In the General's Mansion within the military camp of the Qingfeng Kingdom.

Inside Wei Xiaoping's chamber.

It was currently between the hours of Yin and Mao. Dahua, Wei Xiaoping's mount, stood near the threshold. Its eyes, filled with both sorrow and vigilance, darted constantly between its master lying on the bed and the doorway outside.

Dahua's eyes held sorrow because it did not know when its master would wake up. This was already the third day, and aside from his complexion improving slightly, there had been no other movement at all. Its vigilance stemmed from the fact that its master was a great general of the Qingfeng Kingdom, holding a critical post while severely injured. If it failed to remain highly alert and enemy spies seized the opportunity of his critical condition to sneak in and harm him, it would fail its master and the people of the Qingfeng Kingdom!

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoxuan was sitting by Wei Xiaoping's bedside. Although her upper and lower eyelids constantly fought each other, she still refused to lie down and rest.

Over the past three consecutive days, in order to tend to Wei Xiaoping, she had personally taken care of his every need: feeding him medicinal pills, washing his face and feet, changing his outer garments, combing his hair, and checking his complexion.

Sometimes, she took turns with Dahua channeling vital qi into Wei Xiaoping to help him recover his strength as quickly as possible.

Right then, overcome by an irresistible wave of exhaustion, Zhang Xiaoxuan's head bobbed back and forth before suddenly slumping forward onto the edge of the bed.

Just as her face drooped toward the bedside, a transparent human figure, seemingly formed out of air, drifted in through the door.

As it floated into the room, the translucent figure brushed gently past Dahua's face like a comfortable breeze.

At that moment, attacked by drowsiness, Dahua's eyelids were also growing heavy.

Suddenly, Dahua felt something lightly brush across its face, a sensation as if someone were stroking it with a tiny plume of goose down, bringing a feeling of profound peace and comfort.

Startled, Dahua immediately opened its eyes and swept its gaze rapidly around the room.

Seeing nothing, Dahua walked over to Wei Xiaoping's bed and gazed earnestly at its master lying upon it.

***

At that instant, Dahua saw a semi-transparent human silhouette, seemingly formed from air, perfectly overlap and merge into the lying body of Wei Xiaoping. In less than the blink of an eye, the translucent figure vanished completely into Wei Xiaoping.

"Woof—wu—" Dahua let out a soft cry, waving its snout through the empty space about a foot above Wei Xiaoping's body. Finding nothing, it figured it must have imagined things, so it returned to the doorway to resume its watch.

Zhang Xiaoxuan, who had just fallen asleep slumped over the bed, was startled awake by Dahua's soft howl!

"Dahua, what happened?" Zhang Xiaoxuan looked around, saw nothing unusual, and then turned her gaze to Wei Xiaoping!

At that moment, Wei Xiaoping's mouth began to move, emitting a low, murmuring sound.

"Senior Brother Gaoyang, Senior Brother Gaoyang, why are you so foolish? You already saw me leap across the Black River bank—why didn't you leave the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King? Why didn't you quickly lead the ghost soldiers away from those wolf-lion beasts..." Wei Xiaoping murmured in a daze, as if caught in a dream, uttering words that Zhang Xiaoxuan could only partially comprehend.

"Brother Xiaoping! Brother Xiaoping!" Hearing Wei Xiaoping speak amidst her drowsiness, Zhang Xiaoxuan snapped wide awake. Filled with overwhelming excitement, she called out in a low, trembling voice.

By now, Wei Xiaoping had stopped speaking. Seeing no further reaction from him, Zhang Xiaoxuan began to doubt whether she had been too exhausted and simply misheard, mistaking her own imagination for him waking up. She pinched herself, felt the sting of pain, and then whispered softly to Dahua, "Dahua, come here for a moment. Did you hear Brother Xiaoping speaking just now?"

Hearing the excited tone in Zhang Xiaoxuan's voice, Dahua walked over skeptically!

"I thought I heard Brother Xiaoping speak. When I woke up and looked at him, his mouth seemed to be moving, but now it's stopped!" Zhang Xiaoxuan said.

As Dahua looked over, it saw Wei Xiaoping's lips start moving again. It let out a low growl and licked Xiaoping's face with its tongue.

Seeing Wei Xiaoping's lips twitching once more, Zhang Xiaoxuan cried out eagerly, "Brother Xiaoping! Brother Xiaoping, have you really woken up? What is it you want to say?"